COUNTY HOPES ASPHALT PRICES WILL DROP OFF

Most motorists -- commuters, shoppers, travelers, truckers -- have had, in one way or another, personal experiences in recent months with the effects of high oil prices.

Typically, changes in the prices of worldwide commodities are often of more interest to analysts and investors than to average consumers, but the impact of international oil prices on the cost of gasoline at the pump is something just about everyone notices.

Now another example of how the world oil market affects us all has been brought home to Cape Girardeau County. Because oil prices are high, the cost of asphalt used to pave county roads also has gone up.

Last year, the county purchased 27,000 tons of asphalt at $26.45 a ton. Last week, the county paid $29.90 a ton for just 17,000 tons of asphalt.

County commissioners opted to not only purchase less asphalt but also to spend less of the taxpayers' money on high-cost asphalt. So far, the county is committed to spending more than $200,000 less for asphalt this year. If oil prices -- and asphalt costs -- go down in the next few months, that money could be used to purchase more tons of asphalt at a lower cost per ton.

This plan takes care of the county's most urgent needs for paving roads while hedging that oil prices will sink lower. Rather than commit all of the planned expenditure for asphalt at the current high rate, county taxpayers would get more bang for their bucks if the cost comes down and additional purchases are made then.

Clearly, the county can't do as many paving projects with just 17,000 tons of asphalt as it did with 27,000 tons. But more than half of the asphalt purchased last week is earmarked for paving gravel roads. The rest would be used for resurfacing existing county roads that are already paved.

It makes sense to limit purchases of high-priced asphalt in hopes prices will come down. The County Commission is to be commended again for being frugal with our dollars.